Automatic dump valve for fluid lines



July 31, 1956 c. Lowl-:RY

AUTOMATIC DUMP VALVE FOR FLUID LINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 13,1953 Char/ey owe ry INVENToR,

A TTORNE Y July 3l, 1956 c. LowERY 2,756,767

v AUTOMATIC DUMP VALVE FOR FLUID LINES Filed MaIOh 13, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGLE FIGB.

/ l f 8, .1r-1

Char/e) Lowe ry INVENTOR,

A TTORNEV United States Patent O The present invention relates tocut-ofi `valves yfor fluid conveying pipe `lines, and more particularlyto valves equippedfor automaticoperation by oat actuated mech- `anism.

The prime object of 4thepresent invention is to provide a float operatedvalve yfor automatically emptying oil .and gas separators, and the like,when the liquid in such vessels has reached ,a predetermined'level.

YIn the oil eld industry, .stock tanks are iilled with crude oil as itcomes from the well. These stock tanks areusua'lly connectedto a pipeline 'for conveying the oil to aprocessing plant. `Where the topographywill permit it, the oil Hows from the stock tanks into an oil gatheringsystem by gravity. It is therefore quite important that the stock tanksbeing drained by gravity shouldnot be allowed to 'be drained to such alevel that vair venters the pipe line, because this causes an air-lockand retardsthe draining of other tanks within the system.

An equally important objectof the present invention is'to provide atloat operated valve for stopping the flow of oil, -from an oil tankbeing drained, before the level of the oil within the tank becomes solow that air is allowed to enter the drain line.

In pipe lines conveying certain types of iluids, float operated cut-oilvalves often become stuck or frozen in vtheir 'closed'position, Vdueto'the gravitational deposit of extraneous matter which is entrained inthe iluid. In other conveyor pipes, the high fluid pressures thereinoften tend to hold or lock'the valve in a closed position. In eitherevent, it is usually found impractical to attempt-to open such valvessolely by the use Vof alloat.

An object of the invention is'to provide a float operated mechanismdesigned to break the seated valve loose, even though it is frozen orstuck to a usual extent.

`With them'echanism of the present 'invention installed inatank-bleedingpipe line, the question of whether'or not the'tank will bebled'at the proper'time,is eliminated, and there is no longer anynecessity for a person to periodically inspect the tank and themechanism, to insure against the tank being over-filled. Time and worryare thereby eliminated.

A 'further object is to provide a dependable float operatedtank-bleeding mechanism which has few moving parts to become worn, or toget out of order.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when takenin conjunction with'the accompanying two sheets of drawings, wherein:

Figure l isa side elevational View of the mechanism of the presentinvention, `anti illustrating it\operatively installed in-position toautomatically bleed a storage-tank, the 'tank being shown in dottedlines;

Figure r2 is a vertical sectional View of the device with .the valveiniclosed position;

Figure 3 is a similar view with the valve in fully open position; and

Figure 4 is a side elevational view oflthe oatl and the valve.

lLike characters of reference designate like parts .in those figures ofthe drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

'The reference numeral lindicates astorage tankfor liquid, saidtank.having an outlet pipe or conveyor line 2 for bleeding or drainingthe same. It is upon the line 2,'or some comparable line which mayyperiodically l need fo 1C@ opening, that-the `valve mechanism-of thepresentimention is designed -to function.

In the type 'of installation shown 'in Fig. l, a conventional cut-o'ivalve or stop, `not shown, is usually linstalled in vthe line 2 betweenthe tank '-1 and'the mechanism of the 1present invention. This cut-oilrvalve l"remains closed until such time as'it is desired to drain thetank 1. The cut-'off valve is then opened and -the mechanismof thepresent `invention acts to drain the ftank and Iclose theline2 lbeforeair can enter it without `the necessity of 'the operator returning ltoclosely 4watch fthe 4level of the oil in the tank 1. The Aoperator mayvcloserthe cut-off valve at any convenient time after the tank '-hasbeen drained to the proper level. rlhe tmechanism-of fthe ypresentinvention is arranged `to Vdrain `the ttank l1 each time the liquidtherein reaches a predetermined \hijg`h level.

'The device v,of y.the invention, per se, consists asubstantially of alower section 10 anged in a conventional :man- -nerto =be coupled Tinand to form `acontinuation'ofthe itank -drain line 2, the section 10'has laligned .inlet and outlet bores v1T1 and 12 through which -iluidmay `pass rfrornonesection to `the'othertof 'the pipeline 2. 'Within thesection 10, and between thein'let bore V111 and thezoutlet bore i12,vthere is yprovided a .conically Atapered valveseat13fhavinghorizontally alignedzports :1'4 and 15.

The bottom wall.or:iloor of thesectionl is vertically fbored and tapped'to receive the `lowerend of a guide rod 16 which extends upwardlythrough the seat 13,tand upon whichzis Slidably-mountedaconicallytaperedvalve .1.7. The valve .17 is adapted, when at'lthe'lower-.endetIits travel, kto yseat =within the seat 13 and hermetically Aclose-theports '14 and 1S (Fig. 2). By raising :the 4valve 17 to :the :positionof lFig. 3, the .ports `14 and 15 are :opened so that the liquid may'flow from 4the bore `-11 to the bore 12, .and thence into the Vpipeline -2 again.

.As a means for lifting the valve 17 Vwhen liquidLfrom the tank f1 is.admitted to themechanism, Athe ,following 'described kfloat structureis provided.

The rsection 10 is built in the form of razpipe Thaving `a `verticalvhollow cylindrical leg 2t) ,communicating with .the tbores 11 and 312.The-rod 116 extends upwardly Vthrough'thebore `21 lof the T leg20, lforapurpose more .fully described hereinbelow.

The :vertical leg 20 iszllanged to vconnectthe'lower ,end yof -a hollowcylindrical lfloat chamber 22, having a removabletcap 123 :closing ,itslupper end. Slidably disposed `uponthe guiderod y16, V-and movable inthe chamber .22, isa hollow hermetically l.scaled `float 28 `of somelight Weight metal, 1plastic,cor .other suitable material which "has'sucient buoyancy .to float ,upon .the liquid being storedin the .tank:1.

:The valve 17has'two;pairsfofaoppositely disposed'uplstandingears 24Vand 25eachpair of {which are alignedly 'boredatransverselyatoreceivea-.pivot pin. The two pivot pins are indicated by the referencenumerals 2,6 and 27 respectively.

:Intermediate'its-.endg a shortlevertarm 29 is piVo-tally mounted ion.thefpivot rpin 26, and a similar lever .armf30 is similarly .mountedon'tthe'pivotpinZ?. The lever arm `arrangement is'.such ,thatthe-adjacent endsof the lever :arms-'29 .and swing towardl and -awayfrom eachother inravertical-path.

Thelbottompothe oat 28 is equipped with two-de .pending-pairs 31 and32of spaced parallel ears, andeach `pair is .alignedly rzboredtransverselyto receive a hori- Izontal pivot pin. The: two pivot pins are-indicatedbythe reference numerals 33 and 34 respectively. yThe `pivot :pins 33and34 respectively engage the upperends of two straight links35and-36,'.theloweri ends of :whichare ,-pivotally connected-respectivelyto the'inneror-upper sends loffzthc two leversarms 29. and-3,0.Suitablerhorizontal pivot pins 37 and 38 act to make this latter pivotalconnection.

It is thought to be obvious from the above description that the weightof the float 28 and valve 17 will, through gravity, cause the valve toseat in the seat 13 and close any communication between the horizontalinlet and outlet bores 11 and 12, when the float housing is full ofsuflicient liquid to cause the oat 28 to be raised. It is also thoughtto be obvious that should liquid enter the inlet 11 and build up in thehousing 22 to a height sufficient to raise the float 28, then the links35-36 and the arms 29-30 will combine to lift the valve 17 therewith.

It was stated hereinabove that the two lever arms 29 and 30 werepivotally connected intermediate their ends. It was also described thatthe inner ends of the two lever arms 29 and 30 were pivotally connectedto the links 35 and 36 respectively. Such an arrangement leaves theOuter end of each lever arm 29 and 30 free to pivot in vertical pathswhen the oat 28 is raised or lowered. These outer ends of the two leverarms 29 and 30 are rounded, and are indicated respectively by thereference numerals 40 and 41.

Attention is particularly directed to the horizontal positions of thelever arms 29-30 when the valve 17 is in its closed position, and to thefact that these two lever arms are resting flatly upon the upper athorizontal end of the valve seat 13 (Fig. 2).

Should, as often occurs between operations of the mechanism, the valve17 become stuck or frozen in its seat 13, the rounded ends 40 and 41 ofthe lever arms 29 and 3i) act as lifting cams for the valve, when liquidbuilds up in the housing 22 suiciently to normally raise the float 28.In other words, the arm ends 40 and 41 bear downwardly against the upperilat ends of the valve seat 13, and pry the valve loose from its seatedposition.

Consequently, if the mechanism is properly designed for the liquidcommodity it is to handle, there is never any question of the valvebeing lifted when liquid enters and lls the housing or dome 22 from thetank 1.

As a means for allowing the float 28 to lower the valve 17 and thusclose the ports 14 and 15 before air gets into the line 2 from the tank1, the bottom surface of the cap 23 is provided with a vent pipe 47 incommunication with the interior of the chamber or housing 22 forreleasing trapped air above the float 28 and for admitting air into thechamber 22 when the level of the oil Within the tank 1 reaches a lowlevel slightly above the outlet end of the pipe 2. This admission of airabove the float 28 allows the oat to float within the chamber 22 atsubstantially the same level as it would were it disposed within thetank 1. It seems obvious therefore that when the level of the fluidwithin the tank 1 reaches a level such as the height of the flangedconnection between the lower section and the chamber 22, that the float28 will be low enough that the valve 1'7 will be seated within its seat13 and the liow of fluid through the ports 14 and stopped, while thelevel of the oil is still above the pipe line 2, thereby preventing theentry of air into the gravity or pumping system.

As a means for preventing the loss of oil or other uid from the chamber22 through the vent 47 when the tank 1 is opened to drain, the uppersurface of the float is provided with a centrally disposed conicalupstanding valve core 49 which seats within a co-operating outwardlyared conical recess or seat 48 axially disposed Within the lower surfaceof the cap 23. The lower or bottom surface of the cap 23 furthercontains a vertically disposed socket 46, which acts as a guide for thevalve core 49 into the seat 48 by seating or nesting a rigid upstandingspike or rod 45 carried on the upper end of the valve core 49. Thelength of the spike 4S is such that it will not contact the upper end ofthe socket [16, thus insuring a positive seat of the core 49 Within theseat 48 by the bouyantly upward-thrust of the float 28.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to vsome change or alterationwithout defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not Wish to beconfined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and describedherein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an automatic oat controlled valve assembly, the combination with astorage tank operatively connected to a liquid conveying pipe line, andlwith a valve housing having a fluid passageway in communication withsaid pipe line, said housing having a vertically opening valvesurrounded by a valve seat for opening and closing the passageway, of:an elongated vertical chamber for liquid above and in communication withsaid valve housing; a guiding stem vertically disposed centrally withinsaid chamber rigidly connected at its lower end to the bottom of saidhousing; a float centrally disposed in said chamber and verticallyslidable around said stem; lever arms pivotally connected intermediatetheir ends to said valve, said arms projecting outwardly from said valveadjacent the upper end of said seat; and intermediary links pivotallyconnected to said lloat and to the inner ends of said lever arms,whereby liquid entering the chamber lifts the oat and intermediary linksand the inner ends of the lever arms, causing their outer ends to reston the valve seat and fulcrurn thereagainst, thereby lifting the valve.

2. In an automatic oat controlled valve assembly, the combination with astorage tank operatively connected to a liquid conveying pipe line, andwith a valve housing having a uid passageway in communication with saidpipe line, said housing having a vertically moving first vvalve seat foropening and closing the passageway, of: an

elongated vertical chamber for receiving liquid and for communicationwith said valve housing; a second valve seat in the upper end of saidchamber in communication with the atmosphere for venting or admittingair; a stem vertically disposed centrally within said chamber rigidlyconnected at its lower end to the bottom of said housing; a lioatcentrally disposed in said chamber and vertically slidable around saidstern; a valve core rigidly carried by the upper end of said oat forseating within said second valve seat when the float is raised; leverarms pivotally connected intermediate their ends to said rst valve, saidarms projecting outwardly from said first valve adjacent the upper endof said first valve seat; and intermediary links pivotally connected tosaid float and to the inner ends of said lever arms, whereby liquidentering the chamber lifts the float, seals the air vent by seating thevalve core, and lifts the intermediary links and the inner ends of thelever arms causing their outer ends to rest on the first valve seat andfulcrum thereagainst to lift the seat valve.

3. Structure as specied in claim 2, and guide means for centering saidvalve core within said second valve seat, said means including avertically disposed socket in the upper end of said chamber; and anupstanding spike rigidly carried by said valve core.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 471,537Craigie Mar. 29, 1892 727,503 Walker May 5, 1903 748,046 Byers Dec. 29,1903 827,549 Mauritzen July 3l, 1906 1,007,191 Foley Oct. 31, 19111,067,273 Rice luly 15, 1913 1,121,596 Bannister Dec. 15, 1914 1,277,602Keenan Sept. 3, 1918 1,510,939 Hurst Oct. 7, 1924 1,906,277 McGee May 2,1933 1,998,478 Williams Apr. 23, 1935 2,028,816 Allen Jan. 28, 1936FOREIGN PATENTS .21,493 Great Britain Oct. 27, 1899

